FTC and Commerce disagree on online privacy strategy

Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Commerce Department are preparing to release independent reports about online privacy — and how strict new privacy rules for the web should be, The New York Times reports.

But the findings of each study are expected to conflict with each other.

Commerce favors allowing the internet industry to regulate its own privacy policies. But the Trade Commission wants to explore a “do not track list” option for web users.

The list would be similar to the “do not call” list for telemarketers. Being on the list would stop sites from tracking online habits and marketing clues like age, salary, and location.